Heretofore, approaches to achieving proper compression and sealing of a gasket positioned between mating flanges have included the use of a torque wrench and the use of applied force measuring devices that are responsive to stress and strain such as piezoelectric elements. Each of these techniques is, however, subject to measurement inaccuracies because of various factors such as bolt friction, lack of flange parallelism, sensing element non-linearity, and sensing element temperature sensitivity. There exists a need for an apparatus and a method that provide an improved measurement of gasket integrity regardless of existing environmental conditions and other factors that affect gasket performance.